View Full Version : canadian bilingual games
TEXASGAMEPLAYER
08-09-2005, 08:18 AM
is there any difference in the game or is the packaging the only thing that is in two languages? Specifically the game cube games.
Oobgarm
08-09-2005, 08:23 AM
I'd venture a very solid assumption that it's packaging only, although there are more and more games out there that provide a language switch in the options menu, mainly for navigating menus and printed text.
TEXASGAMEPLAYER
08-09-2005, 08:23 AM
just won a sealed zelda master quest and it is the bilingual package. If I put the american box with game would there be anything different than buying the american version. Basically I want a mint complete us version and I have the u.s. box and instructions with a non mint disc. So I want to swap the biligual style disc with it to make a mint complete u.s., if that makes sense to anyone with my convoluted way of explaining things.
Lady Jaye
08-09-2005, 08:47 AM
No, there's no difference aside from packaging and bilingual manuals. It's very rare that a game will have a French game option -- and when it does, it's usually a Ubisoft game.
There were some notable exceptions (like A Link to the Past for the SNES being released as a French game in Quebec - so it's NTSC - in the early 1990s), but they're few and far between.
Mayhem
08-09-2005, 11:07 AM
Cube game wise, yeah it'll be an extra French language manual (either as part of the English one, or a separate booklet) and dual English/French on the box sleeve.
I have a few Canadian releases... would like to swop them for US only ones tbh. Sometimes having both languages makes the manual almost too fat to fit in the holder!
njiska
08-09-2005, 05:28 PM
The bilingual packaging is mandatory by law if you wish to sell the item in quebec so most Canadian releases have an extra manual in french and a bi-lingual jackect shrink-wraped to the already shrink-wrapped case.
It suprises me that the seperatists never made multiple languages in game mandatory. The way they bitch i would've expected it.
It suprises me that the seperatists never made multiple languages in game mandatory. The way they bitch i would've expected it.
Way to alienate me even more. Congratulations! And you wonder why most of us want Quebec to become a full-fledged country. We "bitch" about French because, get this, it's the language of more than 80% of all Quebecers. Don't worry, once we become independant, it'll become mandatory... like it should. Do you realize how many games are translated in Europe, and in how many languages at that? At the very least, all games that are translated to French over there should be released in French over here too. It's not like they're translating it to a whole new language; the work is already done, yet they don't care enough to give us that option too. Not all Quebecers speak fluent English (not by a long shot), and since games' storylines are becoming more and more complex, with long cinematics and lots of text to read (especially RPG's), it's getting to a point where most people, especially kids, can't enjoy it fully. Knowing what expressions like "press start" and "game over" mean isn't enough anymore. What if games were released as French-only in Ontario, would you keep quiet and accept it or would you "bitch", huh?
Anyway, as others have pointed out, aside from a few exceptions (let me add Kirby's Adventure for the NES to the list), games are published in English only here, regardless of packaging. Ubi games are made in French in the first place, so... yeah. Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time was especially well-made, I thought. But even that wasn't French-only, so there shouldn't be a problem with 99% of the games.
Lady Jaye
08-10-2005, 07:19 AM
Except that localization takes a lot of time (translation isn't instant), so if there were to be French version of the actual games, we wouldn't get them when they're released elsewhere in North America, but rather several months later when they're released in Europe. (one possible solution would be to release the game in English as it comes out in North America, and release the French version when it comes out in Europe).
And the current law, as it is, actually keeps some publishers out of Quebec. If you live in Quebec and want a Koei game, you have to get it in Ontario or buy it online.
But please, leave language politics at the door. We're talking videogames here, not whether the Office de la langue française is doing too little, enough or too much when it comes to availability of French in videogames.
kelma66
08-10-2005, 09:28 PM
The bilingual packaging is mandatory by law if you wish to sell the item in quebec so most Canadian releases have an extra manual in french and a bi-lingual jackect shrink-wraped to the already shrink-wrapped case.
It suprises me that the seperatists never made multiple languages in game mandatory. The way they bitch i would've expected it.
Actually bilingual packaging is mandatory by law if you wish to sell the item ANYWHERE in Canada, not just Quebec.
But it applies only to packaging. For instance, I dont think they make Alphagetti change pronunciation or add any letters or whatever
I could see Quebec insisting on French content however, as
English on outdoor signs is practically illegal. But as far as I know, this is not the case.